Media Release Sample
Foundation for Antarctic Research
For Immediate Release Contact: Devan Stuart, Publicist
October 22, 2008 904.742.7011
Two Small Towns, Four Passionate Women, One Global Effort
Palatka gallery showcases nature photography illustrating identical environmental issues in Palatka, Fla. and Zwolle, Holland
PALATKA, Fla. – Thousands of miles lie between the banks of the St. Johns River and the rolling hills and rivers of Zwolle, capital city of the Overijssel province in the Netherlands. Yet the two towns stand at the same environmental crossroad, watching high-dollar, modern development permeate and overtake picturesque farmlands and natural habitats that have graced the two regions for centuries, and struggling to find ways to effectively, but sensitively handle the rising-water effects of global warming.
Presented by the New York-based Foundation for Antarctic Research and sponsored by Studio JOZ, a photography service in Zwolle, Common Ground: A Global Initiative illustrates the environmental commonalities between the two towns in amazing photographic detail at The Art Shoppe and Gallery, 225 St. Johns Avenue in downtown Palatka November 21, 6-9 p.m. Part of Palatka’s monthly Third Friday Block Party, the event spotlights the efforts of four women dedicated to the preservation of our global environments, as well as the music of Delta Blues legend Willie Green.
Featured are Sandra Birnhak, Director of The Foundation for Antarctic Research; accomplished nature photographers Herma van Gerner of Holland and B.C. Parker of Tallahassee’s Blue Coral Photography; and Mary Rhadigan, artist and owner of Palatka’s only open-to-the-public art gallery, featuring more than 40 regional and national artists.
“Global warming means a lot more than hot summers and droughts, rising sea levels, changing coastlines and eroding beachfront real estate,” says Birnhak. “Rapid climate change will throw off the delicate balance of ecosystems, and the resulting instability will reduce the productivity of all the ecosystems on Earth.”
“To be awake in Nature, to be present and focused on her, then to see the destruction that humans wreak on her, moves thinking, caring beings to an extremely disturbed state,” says Parker. “I feel much the same as I feel when protecting a child from danger.”
“Worldwide, we have the same problems with handling water from rising rivers and seas,” ads van Gerner. “In Holland, we realize we need stronger and higher dykes and wider river banks. We give cultivated land back to nature, and with a little help, nature is coming back in all its glory.”
The aim of Common Ground is to artfully illustrate the fact that though we speak different languages and live different cultures, we all share the same earth – and our common home needs our concerted protective efforts. Common Ground enjoys the support of several of the world’s most prestigious scientists including Dr. Graham Robertson, Australian Antarctic Division, and Arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt.
The Foundation for Antarctic Research raises funds for Antarctic research, including a current project studying the foraging ecology of Emperor penguins at the Snow Hill Island rookery. Delta Blues legend Willie Green (www.williegreenblues.com), self taught on the harmonica and guitar, plays regularly at the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek, Fla.
Interview opportunities and images are available. Call Devan Stuart at 904.742.7011. For venue information, contact The Art Shoppe and Gallery at 386.325.6262.
Reach Devan Stuart at 904.742.7011
